There are 20 volumes of Xuanhe Pu Shu and Xuanhe Huapu, which respectively record the masterpieces of calligraphy and painting collected by the imperial palace during Xuanhe period, and describe the history of calligraphy and painting from ancient times to the Northern Song Dynasty. The works are preceded by a brief introduction of the life of the painter and painter. Xuanhe Painting Spectrum records 23 1 artist and 6396 paintings. Xuanhe Pu Shu is the book with the most descriptions of calligraphy in the Northern Song Dynasty, with thousands of recorded calligraphy works. These two books are the earliest works of art history in the history of China. They collected the calligraphy and painting works collected in the court at that time completely and systematically, and made relevant personages introduction and calligraphy and painting comments. They provide valuable information for future generations to understand and study the history of China's calligraphy and painting, and occupy an important position in the history of China's fine arts. However, there is no author's name in his works, and his author is not recorded in several important catalogue books in the Song Dynasty. So who are the authors of these two books has caused a lot of speculation.
According to the summary of Sikuquanshu, the works recorded in the book, such as The Book of Song People, were finally decided by Cai Jing, Cai Bian and Mi Fei. Bi, Jing and Bian are all good at calligraphy, and Bi You is good at distinguishing, each with his own strengths. Therefore, the policy of publicizing peace does not agree, and appreciates uniqueness. In the book, the calligraphy works of "Wei Yuan and party member" such as Sima Guang, Wen Yanbo, Su Shi and Huang Tingjian were all excluded. Judging from their political standpoint, the author may be an idiot. "Talk about Tiewei Mountain" contains: "Song Qiaonian was appointed to be in charge of the calligraphy and painting department of the imperial court since he worshiped Ning. Qiao Nian stopped after, and Mifei succeeded him. Almost by the end of the year, there were thousands of hidden interest rates on it, which was a great event in the real Xi dynasty. "It is believed that calligraphy and painting are identified by Mi Fei. Judging from his artistic appreciation and the conditions in charge of the imperial painting and calligraphy room, his author is probably Mi Fei.
However, some scholars have pointed out that according to the facts contained in the book and related tone analysis, it is not like the handwriting of Cai Jing, Cai Bian and Mi Fei. For example, Biography of Cai Bian said, "I like reading since I was a child. At first, I was Yan Xing, and my brushwork was elegant, but my maturity was unknown, so I was a little delicate. " If it was Chua Mei-er's own handwriting, how could he belittle himself in this biography? In addition, these two books were written during the reign of Xuanhe (119 ~125), and Mi Fei died in the first year of Daguan (1 107), more than ten years earlier than the book was written. The book "The Biography of Mi Fei" says: "Dissidents say that the peak of their words is too steep, like a strong crossbow shooting three miles, or Zhong You has not seen Confucius, which is the case without theory." His criticism of Mi Fei's calligraphy is quite different from Mi Fei's self-righteous criticism of the ancients in his famous novel Hai Yue, so the author can't be Mi Fei.
Some people think that it was written by Song Huizong, and some articles in the book are obviously Hui Zong's tone, such as Song Renzong's Me, My Terran and My Examination of God. "The Biography of Xuanhe Pu Shu and Cai Jing" said: "If you help one person, the country has been decided. How can Beijing help it?" Completely is Hui Zong's tone of "giving one person", and there is Hui Zong's Preface to Imperial System in front of the book, which shows that the author is Hui Zong.
Some scholars pointed out that Song Huizong was also a master of painting and calligraphy, and his thin gold body and flower-and-bird paintings were masterpieces of the art world at that time. Not only did he love painting and calligraphy, but he also asked his officials to sort out, identify and record the fine paintings and calligraphy in the palace. It was under his personal care and supervision that the calligraphy and painting of Xuanhe was completed. If there are a few words in the book written by Hui Zong on a whim, it is still credible; If the whole book is written by Yu, it is tantamount to talking in a dream. It is a well-known fact that books written by emperors are generally compiled by ministers collectively. He said in the preface to the king's decree that this son is a cloud and a tribute to the courtiers. It can be seen that the so-called preface written by Hui Zong is so false, not to mention other parts.
According to Zheng Gou's Book of Yan Jizao in the Yuan Dynasty, "A collection of calligraphy characters printed by Dade people, between Wen and Song Dynasties, began in Jin Dynasty and ended in Song Dynasty, and was named" Xuan He Pu ",totaling 20 volumes." I thought the author was Wu Wengui of Yuan Dynasty, which was even more unfounded. In the Song Dynasty, this book was called "Ben Chao" and "I Song", which is by no means the tone of Yuan people. According to the postscript of Wang Shizhen Wu Wengui's Ancient and Modern Law Bookstore in the Ming Dynasty: "The book of Xuanhe calligraphy and painting was not published at that time, and the rumor was wrong, and I was ill again, so I invited all the people to attend the school, hence the name." It can be seen that Wu Wengui copied and printed these two books according to the old school rather than the author.
After reading these two books carefully, we can see that they faithfully reflect the official theoretical opinions and aesthetic attitudes in art, the narrative system is thoughtful, the arguments are relatively plain, and they lack originality. There are contradictions from time to time, so it seems that the writer is not alone. It was compiled by an interior minister who was good at calligraphy and painting and appreciation during the reign of Xuanhe. Hui Zong himself may have participated in the compilation of these two books and personally wrote several of them. Other minions, such as Cai Jing, should also have a great influence on the compilation process, such as the selection of works and comments. Some scholars even believe that Cai Jing's philosophers probably participated in the compilation of his book. For example, Yu Jiaxi, a modern scholar, thinks that Cai Mao, the eldest son of Cai Jing, was promoted to secretary province at that time, and the two books must have been written by Cai Mao. There is some truth in this statement, but there is no direct evidence.